In the heart of earthquake-hit Amatrice in Italy A magnitude 6.2 earthquake has struck central Italy, leaving at least 38 people dead and 150 missing, as rescuers search for survivors.

Many of the dead were in Accumoli, close to the epicentre, and a short distance away in Amatrice, which was largely reduced to rubble.

The village of Pescara del Tronto was levelled to the ground and the number of dead was expected to rise.

The quake hit at 03:36 (01:36 GMT), 100km (65 miles) north-east of Rome.
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi paid tribute to the volunteers and civil defence officials who had rushed to the scene in the middle of the night and used their bare hands to dig for survivors,

The quake struck at a shallow depth of 10km and its intensity was compared to that of the Aquila earthquake in April 2009 in which 309 people died.

Some buildings in the capital shook for 20 seconds as the quake struck the regional border area of Umbria, Lazio and Le Marche. It was felt from Bologna in the north to Naples in the south. Some 80 aftershocks have been reported since.